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Former state Senate Democratic Leader Robert J. Mellow and five others charged with rigging bids for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will face trial later this year, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Defense lawyers argued for dismissal of all charges, stating that prosecutors presented "no evidence" during a preliminary hearing for the six men. However, Magisterial District Judge William C. Wenner ruled there was enough evidence to send all the charges against the six men to Dauphin County Court after a state prosecutor argued Mr. Mellow and turnpike officials used their official positions to turn the turnpike into a campaign fundraising operation in violation of state law.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Laurel Brandstetter said hearing evidence showed Mr. Mellow enjoyed a close relationship with turnpike officials who used turnpike vendor lists and pressured vendors to raise money for his campaigns and those of other politicians.

The hearing resumed after a two-week recess that gave lawyers time to prepare legal briefs and formulate closing arguments. It resumed in the judge's local courtroom instead of the Dauphin County Courthouse where hearing testimony took place.

Mr. Mellow is charged with bid-rigging, running a corrupt organization, ethics violations and other counts. The other five who were the part of the hearing are Mr. Brimmeier, former chief operating officer George Hatalowich, former commission chairman Mitchell Rubin and two turnpike vendors, Dennis Miller and Jeffrey Suzenski.

Ms. Brandstetter did her best to turn a key defense argument - that no witness testified to being asked to contribute in exchange for a specific contract or official action - into a strength. She said that defense lawyers' "quid pro quo" argument was "too narrow." She said the public had a right to expect the turnpike would not be used as a way of raising money for political campaigns, but that's what happened.

When the former senator needed campaign money for his or other campaigns, Mr. Lepore testified, his boss had him reach out to Mr. Brimmeier and Mr. Rubin for help, Ms. Brandstetter said.

She said evidence showed vendors felt pressured to contribute, uncomfortable when they did and sometimes uncomfortable when they were not asked to be part of fundraising because of their belief it was necessary to do business with the turnpike, Ms. Brandstetter said.

She said Mr. Mellow pushed Mr. Lepore hard to get turnpike bond work for PNC Bank, whose Northeast Pennsylvania regional president, Peter Danchak was a close friend of Mr. Mellow's.

Defense lawyers portrayed that as nothing more than advocating for a constituent, but Ms. Brandstetter said Mr. Mellow accepted gifts from PNC, including tickets to baseball games, that he did not disclose on state ethics forms.

The defense said Mr. Mellow had no obligation to disclose it because state law exempts disclosure of gifts from friends, but Ms. Brandstetter said disclosure would have solved the problem.

"If this is true friendship, disclose it," she said.

Meanwhile, despite the friendship, Mr. Danchak submitted receipts for reimbursement by the bank, she said.

"Their friendship is being expensed," Ms. Brandstetter said.

Her closing followed a spirited final argument by Scranton attorney Sal Cognetti Jr., one of Mr. Mellow's lawyers, who accused prosecutors of fashioning a case based on "myth and fiction" in arguing his client committed no crime and should have corruption charges against him dismissed.

"There are people who look at life through a dirty glass," Mr. Cognetti said. "When you look at life through a dirty glass, the whole world looks dirty. Sometimes, people try to connect dots to come to a preconceived conclusion that is not based on facts, but on myth and fiction."

That's what the prosecution did during the hearing, presenting not one witness who said Mr. Mellow took anything in exchange for the turnpike awarding a contract to a favored person or vendor, Mr. Cognetti said.

The prosecution's allegation that Mr. Mellow had gone to baseball games and rock concerts on Mr. Danchak's tab was wrong, too, he said.

"They know, we know, the court knows that Bob Mellow never went to any concerts with Pete Danchak," he said.

After the ruling, the judge, at Mr. Cognetti's request, ordered prosecutors to preserve all emails related to the case, citing a Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper story that reported Monday that Ms. Kane had asked for the removal of the judge supervising the grand jury that issued the presentment in the turnpike case.

Mr. Cognetti said the story suggests "irregularities in the grand jury."

He said he does not know of specific irregularities.

"We as defense attorneys are obligated to pursue that," he said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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